Notary Bonds

Notary surety bonds are required by many states when obtaining or renewing a notary commission and are often part of the notary application or renewal process. The surety bond helps to protect the public from the notary's action or inaction through an agreement to pay the obligee in an amount up to the bond coverage amount in the event of a harmful act by the notary. The obligee is one of three parties to the surety bond contract:

The principal: this is the notary public, the person being bonded.

The obligee: this is the state, the party being paid if a claim is made against the bond.

The surety: the surety company exists to guarantee payment of claims on the bond and has a right to recover any monies paid from the notary. In this sense, the notary public is NOT protected from financial harm by the surety bond and may want to carry notary errors & omissions insurance to protect themselves.

If you are in the process of becoming a notary or renewing your notary commission and need a notary bond, you've come to the right place.

Sample California Notary Bond

NOTARY ROTARY, INC.

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS:

That we NOTARY PUBLIC NAME, as Principal, and NAME OF A SURETY COMPANY, COMPANY, a corporation duly licensed to do business in the State of California, as Surety, are held and firmly bound unto the State of California, in the sum of Fifteen Thousand ($15,000) Dollars, lawful money of the United States of America, to be paid to the said State of California, or its assigns, for which payment, well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves and our legal representatives, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents.

THE CONDITION OF THE ABOVE OBLIGATION IS SUCH, That whereas, the Principal was on the 1st day of April, 2001, duly appointed a Notary Public in the State of California for the term of four years from the date of his/her commission.

NOW THEREFORE, if the Principal shall well, truly and faithfully perform all official duties required of him/her by law, and all such additional duties as may hereafter be imposed on him/her as such officer by any law of the State of California, then the above obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and effect.

Any proceeding under this bond may be instituted in any court of competent jurisdiction in the State of California.
Signed and dated this 15th day of April, 2001.

By ___[Signature of Notary Public]___, Principal

By ___[Signature of Insurance Agent]___, Attorney-In-Fact

CERTIFICATE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT

STATE OF IOWA
County of Polk

On April 15, 2001 before me, Notary Public, personally appeared NAME OF INSURANCE AGENT personally known to me (or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence) to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized capacity(ies) and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the person(s) acted, executed the instrument.

Witness my hand and official seal. __Signature of Notary for Insurance Agent__
(Seal)